Grazed from TechWorld. Author: Joab Jackson.

Oracle has launched a set of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) systems that companies can run in-house and pay for on a monthly basis, a project the company announced at OpenWorld in September. Oracle is not pitching the IaaS offers as an alternative to commodity cloud services, such as the Amazon Web Services (AWS), but rather as an alternative to purchasing Oracle systems for on premise deployment.

Using Oracle IaaS, the company claims, eliminates the upfront capital costs of buying new equipment, and could quickly provide additional capacity, at a price, when needed. With Oracle IaaS, customers can lease versions of many of Oracle’s integrated systems, including versions of the Oracle Exadata Database Machine, the Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud, the Oracle SPARC SuperCluster, the Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine and the Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance…

Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Sunil Pathak.

…The famous four in action and how they complement, and disrupt each other…..

1. Cloud and Mobility – A Match Made in Heaven….
Cloud computing is providing organizations with low-cost applications and storage, making it easier to manage the growing amount of information. Increased adoption of cloud-based systems (IaaS, SaaS, PaaS and everything else) in the enterprise will pave a way for a faster pace of adoption and acceptance of the cloud-based back end for mobile devices. With increased use of smartphones, tablets in enterprise (BlackBerry, Nexus, Surface, etc.), increased acceptance of BYOD, more and more business information and data will be moved outside the firewall. The trend will fuel the use of cloud infrastructure for mobile applications, and platform and infrastructure including storage. It’s a no-brainer. Private mobile cloud, private mobile app stores, standalone enterprise class mobile app stores, etc., will start taking shape. The mobile app and platform ecosystem will evolve.The growth will, however, also depend on the ability of SaaS and PaaS vendors to facelift their applications and platforms for the mobile devices…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Chris Kanakarus.

Cloud Sherpas is continuing its string of acquisitions of boutique consulting firms for cloud services, with the purchase of Innoveer Solutions and Navigis. Terms of the deals, which were announced Tuesday, were not disclosed.

Innoveer is focused on CRM (customer relationship management) software, with a particular emphasis on Salesforce.com. It has more than 750 customers and 2,000 successful implementations, according to Cloud Sherpas. The company also has European operations, giving Cloud Sherpas a physical presence in that region for the first time, Cloud Sherpas said…

Grazed from eNewsWire. Author: JBaker.

Computacenter offers end-to-end cloud computing solutions based on specific circumstances, needs, and objectives – this can help identify the right options for securing data. Computacenter can help maintain IT security and improve IT processes to deliver better ways of working on the move and collaborating which match the attributes of commercial consumer cloud services.  New research shows that 84% of employees are accessing and sharing company data using consumer cloud solutions like Dropbox and SkyDrive.

Computacenter conducted research amongst 150 IT decision makers and the findings highlight the risks and the need for action, offers insight into what can be done, and shows how important the issue of the consumer cloud really is. The research was led by Cloud Practice Leader, Paul Casey, who said, “It’s imperative that businesses address this problem now. It’s clear that everyone knows the risks of consumer cloud products, but until the correct solutions are put in place… Employees will continue to use them whatever the consequences.”…

Grazed from CBROnline. Author: Editorial Staff.

The new platform will allow retailers to manage inventory systems in the cloud. Dell has released Cloud Client Computing for retail, the firm’s first end-to-end cloud application to help retailers move to an in-store cloud environment. According to the firm, the new platform will allow retailers to simplify store system hardware by centrally hosting and managing complex point-of-sale (POS) and inventory systems within the store or in the cloud.

Dell retail industry practice lead, Mike Adams, said that currently most retailers have had to bring together products and services from multiple vendors in order to address cloud solutions and virtualisation in their store environment. "As a result of our recent acquisitions that include Wyse, SonicWALL and Quest, Dell is able to provide an end-to-end solution that has been tested and optimized for retail’s unique environment," Adams said…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

Google Apps developer BetterCloud, which launched into the Google Apps Marketplace about six months ago, has received $5 million in financing to develop better cloud management and security tools for Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Apps users.

The round of financing was led by Flybridge Capital Partners, but also included Greycroft Partners and TriBeCa Venture Partners, as well as continued support from existing investors Bear Creek Capital and BLH Venture Partners. BetterCloud plans to use the cash to develop stronger cloud management and security tools while also accelerating the adoption of cloud services. That’s according to the company, which so far has raised a total of $7.2 million in financing…

Grazed from CIO. Author: John Moore.

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging field, subject to some confusion and very much an early-adopter exercise at the moment. Channel partners-resellers, systems integrators and consultancies-often carve niches in such immature fields, providing advice and deployment help to customers who lack sufficient in-house knowledge. That tendency is beginning to play out in SDN. Technology vendors have already started recruiting integrators and other channel allies. The companies that seek to populate the SDN channel say they are studying the technology so they can be in a position to assist customers.

IT managers, however, suggest SDN adopters may or may not need channel support. Cloud service providers and academic institutions-who are considered the first wave of SDN deployment-typically possess deep technical skills and prefer to accumulate their own expertise rather than hire outsiders…

Grazed from CloudTech. Author: Editorial Staff.

If you’re like most, cloud is going to be a big part of your life in 2013. So to help you start the year off right, we’ve prepared the following tips for securing your cloud servers. Here are your 5 cloud security tips for 2013 (in no particular order):

Tip #1: Lock down the server firewall

Big surprise – a firewall management service provider telling you to lockdown the firewall, but putting aside the brand of our soap box, the firewall is the front-line defence for all security. In fact, 73% of IT professionals agree, according to the Ponemon Research study on cloud security. But while there’s a general consensus to use the firewall, few know how to do it properly. So here’s one little tip from the experts: Make sure you only open admin and other service ports when, for whom/what, and for as long as you need. Don’t, for example, leave SSH open to 0.0.0.0/0 or every bad guy out there will be brute force attack your servers. The same is true for RDP (which is often vulnerable to zero-day attacks (see Morto worm) and other protocols…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

3Lions Publishing, Inc. (3LP), the owner/operator of the HIPAA Survival Guide, is pleased to announce Release 1.0 of its HIPAA Cloud, Social Media, and Mobile Checklist under HITECH. The Checklist is available for purchase in the HIPAA Survival Guide Store. Cloud Computing, Social Media, and Mobile Devices (“CSMM”) are only a small subset of an organization’s compliance initiative, but represent significant potential liability. Addressing CSMM sooner rather than later can dramatically improve your compliance ROI.

3LP’s CSMM Checklist provides policies, processes, and tracking mechanisms to help covered entities (health care provides, health plans, etc.) and their business associates deliver visible, demonstrable evidence of HIPAA compliance. The Checklists are H2 Compliance Scorecard™ ready, which provides a powerful mechanism for reviewing an organization’s Checklist progress and facilitates compliance reporting. In addition to implementation guidance, 3LP’s CSMM Checklist provides model out-of-the-box and ready to use Cloud Computing, Social Media, and Mobile Device policies that are readily customizable…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: David Linthicum.

I always pay attention to business publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, when they write about cloud computing. Their writing is very reflective of how business sees this technology and will ultimately play a part in the success of cloud computing.

Recently, the Journal wrote: "For many small businesses that have used the cloud for a few years, the experience has largely been positive, but not without drawbacks. Cloud services run by companies like Google, Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp., and Dell attract entrepreneurs because of their convenience and low startup costs. But some customers complain about security measures and entrepreneurs’ lack of control over data."…